Fade Away
by Ghene
Summary: GOING THROUGH RENOVATIONS
1. Fade Away

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing but my own soul, and even that is debatable. (tm) disclaimer

**Notes:** Okay, so I promised myself I would update all of my fics this spring break and not start a new fic until they were all updated, but...uhm, wow this idea was beating me over the head. So I had to go with it!

Basically this is a different take on the episode "Flashback". A "what-if" scenario, if you will. Had Ebon never returned to the past with Static, Gear, and Timezone, would Virgil have been able to save his mother? And if he had been able to, how would that affect the present? This is how I see it :)

Also, in the "new" present, Richie's superhero alter-ego is "Hypno" and not "Gear". The way I see it is that a) Virgil was the one who named Richie "Gear". If Richie wasn't friends with Virgil at the time, then how could Virgil name him? and b) Without being friends with Virgil, I think Richie would be an entirely different person, which may have affected the places he would go and the times he would go to these places. So I think it's very possible that he could have been at the first Big Bang in this "alternative universe". And for those of you who read "Shatter", you should know that I believe had Richie directly inhaled the Bang Gas, he'd be telepathic and telekinetic.

* * *

**Fade Away**  
**Prologue**

* * *

Worrying his bottom lip in despair, Gear set Backpack down safely in the smallest nook of the gas station, pulling off his helmet so that he could connect one of Backpack's input devices to his head. Closing his eyes tightly, Gear slowly inserted the tiny needle-shaped instrument into his right temple, ignoring the temporary flare of pain. When he felt his mind was able to adjust to this new intrusion, Gear opened his eyes and stared down at Backpack, taking in a deep breath before programming the computer to download every single one of his thoughts and memories into its system. 

Just as a precaution, right?

Just as a precaution.

When the job had been completed, Gear pulled the needle from his skull and wiped the traces of blood that covered it, commanding Backpack to retract and go into standby mode. He paused as a thought occurred to him and quickly booted Backpack up once again, turning on Backpack's recording system and pointing its camera towards the center of the room, before putting it back into standby mode with its camera still running. He had just finished covering Backpack with a nearby blanket when he heard Static's voice shout for him.

"GEAR! Where are you?" his partner cried, coming to a halt as he reached the gas station's doors. A second later, Static was joined by Timezone.

"Did you… save your mother?" For some reason, Gear was finding it hard to get the words out.

"I did, man! She still got shot, but I was able to get her to a hospital. They said she'd be all right!" Static was practically walking on air as he spoke, running over to where his partner stood. He wrapped Gear up in a bone-crushing hug and grinned. "And I owe it all to you… if you hadn't come up with that remote to go back in time…"

Gear yanked himself away and nodded. "Yeah."

Frowning, Static laid his hand on Gear's shoulder, trying to catch his friend's gaze. "Are you okay, man…?" He paused as he caught sight of the small wound on Gear's temple. "Dude, what happened?"

"I…we…we should get back to the future." Gear pulled away again and turned to Timezone, nodding sadly to the new meta-human. She frowned and nodded as well, apparently understanding his anguish. Looking back at Static, Gear sighed. "Now."

Any and all concern that had littered Static's gaze suddenly vanished at the prospect of returning to a world where his mother was still alive.

"Gear…Richie…I… I really don't know what to say…" Static mumbled, voice becoming choked as he stepped closer to his friend. Gear looked away.

"Please… don't…" Somehow, Gear knew what was coming. It had been coming for a long time, they both knew, but they'd wanted to leave it for an occasion that was special. That they would never forget.

How ironic that that time would be now?

"Thank you…" It was a soft whisper that accompanied the hand Static used to cup Gear's cheek, partnered with the tears threatening to fall from Static's eyes. Gear wanted to scream.

And then Static kissed him.

Pushing his partner away with all of his might, Gear grabbed the Time Remote from the floor and tried to find the correct button that would lead them back home through his now blurred vision.

"S-stupid remote…"

"Richie…?" Gear tried to ignore the hurt tone in Static's voice, rationalizing that it would all be forgotten soon.

All of it.

Forgotten.

Never to have happened.

Finally finding the button he so desired, Richie pressed down and kept his grip on the remote as if it were his only savior in life.

Forgotten.

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

Virgil Hawkins groaned as he watched the U-Haul truck make its way up his driveway.

"I still don't see why we have to move back to Dakota," his older sister, Sharon, whined to their father. "I mean, we left for a reason, didn't we? It was way too dangerous there."

Mr. Hawkins chuckled and patted her on the shoulder. "The riots stopped five years ago. Since then, Dakota has been anything but dangerous."

"Yeah, you know, if you skip the part about the bang babies," Virgil muttered, getting up from his spot by the window and joining his family by the bottom of the stairs. Mr. Hawkins rolled his eyes and pushed his children through the front door.

"This was your mother's idea, you know. She's been wanting to move back to Dakota ever since she fully recovered from being shot. In fact, she never wanted to leave in the first place."

"So now I know where you get your craziness from, Sharon," Virgil laughed, darting out of the way to avoid being smacked. Sharon somehow managed anyway.

"Maybe there'll be more of that bang gas left and you'll get infected. Then you'd turn into an even creepier monster than you are now and would have to leave home. I'd gladly hand over the job of beating you up to Hypno and Timezone."

"Pfft, are you kidding?" Virgil grinned. "If I became a bang baby, I'd be right up there with Hypno and Timezone as one of Dakota's favorite superheroes. I'd be so good, even the Justice League would be begging me to join"

A loud crash from behind cut Virgil off, causing him to whip around and face his pale mother. Sharon frowned and ran over to help her with the boxes she had dropped.

"Mom? Are you okay?" Virgil asked in concern. Mrs. Hawkins flushed and nodded, laughing at her own clumsiness.

"Oh, you know, I'm just getting old…" she said quickly. Sharon and Virgil exchanged identical looks of skepticism but let it pass. Whenever Virgil even mentioned superheroes (especially becoming one) in jest, their mother would have some sort of episode. Virgil liked to think that it was because their mother was overprotective of him and the thought of him being in danger was far too overwhelming. Sharon, on the other hand, always countered that idea by saying that it was because their mother didn't want Virgil accidentally destroying the world in his haste to stop a bank robber.

Personally, Virgil liked his idea better. Sighing, he grabbed his suitcase and made his way to the car, strapping on his seat belt as he said his last goodbye to the house that had been so good to him for the past five years.

"Dakota, here we come…" he mumbled, before opening up his bag and pulling out a faded newspaper article. It was on Hypno and Timezone, Dakota's very own superheroes. While he had always had a slight obsession with superheroes in just about every aspect, he found a personal interest in the crime-fighting duo from Dakota. The thing that he found so mind-blowing about them wasn't that they had superpowers or that they saved lives, however; it was that they were teenagers, just like he was. Timezone was a young teenage girl with the amazing power to control time thanks to her Time Remote, and her partner, Hypno, was around the same age, known for his psychokinetic abilities and incredible genius. Both had been affected by what had become known around the country as "The Big Bang" and, unlike most of the meta-humans running rampant throughout Dakota, they used their powers to protect the city.

Virgil sighed as he reclined himself, waiting for the rest of his family to join him so that they could take off. He brought the article into his line of vision again and frowned at the photograph that was presented. Whenever he looked at the picture, he was always captured by the sad look in Hypno's eyes, despite the smile that graced the young superhero's features.

"Baby boy?"

Virgil looked up at the voice and rolled his eyes, getting back into a sitting position. "Mom, I told you not to call me that."

Mrs. Hawkin's chuckled and slid into the backseat next to her son, glancing at the article he had been studying. An odd expression crossed her face for a moment, before she smiled warmly, running her fingers through Virgil's dreads.

"I think this move will be good for you. Maybe it'll put things back to the way they're supposed to be…"

Virgil raised an eyebrow at the words, as well as his mother's wistful tone. "Uhm…ookay?"

"Just try to act like you don't hate this as much as you really do…for me?"

Virgil couldn't help but grin at the puppy eyes she was directing towards him, finally realizing where Sharon got it from.

"Yeah, mom. For you."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *


	2. Incomplete, Part 1

**Notes:  
a) Please remember that Richie's powers are my own hypothesis on what may have happened had he directly inhaled the Big Bang gas as opposed to getting it from Virgil's clothes (There is no proof that he could or couldn't have gotten these powers after directly inhaling as when he finally did directly inhale, it was the end of the last episode of the series ). For more info on this theory, go read my story "Shatter".  
**b) Again, like I said, Richie would probably be an entirely different person had he never met Virgil, so read with an open mind!  
**c) Daisy is absent because I believe that had Virgil never gone to the private school with her, the huge mess that the episode entailed wouldn't have happened, and she'd still be there.  
**

**EnchantedBlood:** XD, okay okay! If it's 'pain of death' we're talking about... then here you go :p

**Richie I Love YOU:** How could I do it? Because... I am sadistic. Especially to my favorite characters XD - And yeah, Hypno and Timezone are more of a partnership, but if I _had_ to make a sidekick, it'd be Timezone. As it will later be described, Hypno was a superhero first before Timezone joined, just like Static and Gear.

**Saturn's Hikari:** Goth!Richie? I could see that, but unfortunately, not in this fic... maybe in another one :) As for Hotstreak in a tutu...XD And yeah, I was totally feeling the Gear/Timezone vibes... and I was actually considering that, but you'll see why it never happened in this universe once you read on.

**Serina Kat:** XD it's okay, it was fun reading the 'tv announcements'. And yes, I'm actually planning on writing up the next chapter of "Shatter" before the next day is out :)

**Estel Baggins:** Yes, I can guarantee a happy ending... but I can't guarantee you won't be sobbing right up until that happy ending ;)

And thanks to **Mikaphantom, Nikana, Sailor Vegeta, SnakeMistress, Shebang, scheherezhad, leev, tp96,** and **BH**. You are all loved :)

* * *

**Fade Away  
Chapter One**

* * *

Letting out a groan of dismay, Richie Foley made his way up the steps of the sickeningly yellow school bus, eyes scanning the vehicle for a seat that would take him.

The empty one in the very front. Of course.

With a sigh, he sat down and unzipped his book bag, searching the contents for a CD worth listening to. A loud voice from somewhere in the back of the bus temporarily halted his hunt. Closing his eyes, he decided to ignore the sound.

"Hey, Poindexter!"

In the small CD store that was his backpack (or at least that was what Frieda called it, speaking of his wide taste for music), he had The Ataris, Nelly, Evanescence, and… the Backstreet Boys?

"Yo, Nerd Boy! I'm talking to you!"

Richie frowned. How did Frieda's CD get into his bag?

"Hey, Geekface!"

She had probably dropped it in there accidentally when they were in the computer lab…

"HEY." Richie froze as the voice that had so far come from a safe distance away was suddenly right beside him. Glancing out of the corner of his eye at the intimidating figure standing above him, he forced himself to hold back the scathing remark resting on his tongue.

"What is it, Francis?" he muttered, attempting to keep his tone sounding neutral. The bigger teen growled and took a step back.

"I told you to call me F-Stop!"

"Right. What is it _F-Stop_?" If Francis caught any of the sarcasm Richie's voice held, he certainly didn't show it. Instead, he folded his arms across his chest with an overly satisfied smile making its way across his features.

"Bad way to start off the new school year by ignoring me, Nerdy," he announced loudly enough for the other occupants of the bus to hear. He paused a moment for dramatic effect, before leaning against the back of Richie's seat.

Richie wondered why the hell the bus driver wasn't doing anything.

"…But since I'm such a nice guy," Francis was saying by the time Richie refocused his attention on the bully, "I'll let it slip this one time….for a price."

Without another word, Richie sighed and reached into his book bag to pull out his summer English assignment, almost mechanically handing it over to Francis.

As soon as the other teen disappeared with a haughty grin, several images of Francis with fiery hair accompanying glowing eyes flashed through Richie's mind.

He decided right then and there that he definitely preferred the other teen when he was Hotstreak.

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

"Richie! Hey!" Glancing up at the familiar voice calling to him, Richie gave Frieda a faint smile. The girl grinned brightly in return and looped her arm through Richie's.

"Once again, Frieda, I'm giving you this chance to ditch me at the beginning of the year and not have your oh-so-golden reputation tarnished by hanging with the school reject," Richie replied as a greeting. His best friend merely giggled and pulled him closer.

"Nonsense, my dear boy. Being seen with you is only helping my reputation. It's called charity work."

"Ooo, first burn of the school year and class hasn't even started. Getting ahead of ourselves, aren't we?"

"I burn when inspiration strikes."

"Yeah, right," Richie said with a small grin as they made their way to class. In the next instant, memories of Frieda giggling with a pretty girl around their age with dark skin, short black hair, and bright brown eyes sped past his line of vision. So fast, in fact, that he almost blurted out "So how's Daisy?" before he could stop himself.

Feeling the cloud of depression that seemed to befall him daily since he'd first stumbled upon his forgotten memories, Richie held back the witty retort that had been manifesting on his lips. He ignored the odd look Frieda shot him as he took his usual seat in the front corner of the classroom and began to pull out his books.

**

* * *

**

_Richie grinned brightly as he put the finishing touches on his latest invention, rubbing clean the red sensory plate that acted as the machine's 'eyes'._

_"So is that what you've been working on for the past week?"_

_Richie jumped at the voice of his partner and had the decency to flush. _

"_Yeah," he admitted, grabbing the invention and holding it up for his partner to see. "I call it… Backpack."_

_Timezone giggled, covering her mouth with her hand and pretended to be serious when Richie gave her a look._

"_Sorry," she mumbled with a snicker as she removed her mask, allowing herself to fall back into the roll of Nina Gonzales, ordinary high school student. Richie rolled his eyes and began to tinker with Backpack again, frowning when he heard the machine beep._

"_That's strange…"_

"_What is?" Nina dropped her utility belt on one of the boxes of the abandoned warehouse they used as a secret base, and made her way over to Richie, looking over his shoulder._

"_Backpack is picking up an electrical signal almost identical to its own…"_

"_So?"_

"So_," Richie continued, apparently irritated that Nina couldn't see the not-so-obvious gravity of the situation. "We have to track it down."_

"_What? Why? I just got back from patrolling!" the girl whined, pouting as she went back to the area where her removed costume resided, pulling the material and equipment back on._

"_Backpack is even more high-tech than any of the government's top computers. If there's something else out there with this much technology and it gets into the wrong hands…"_

"_Shut up, you just want to find it so you can play with it."_

_Richie looked temporarily offended at the suggestion, before grinning guiltily._

"_Okay, maybe a little."_

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

_Frowning, Hypno stopped mid-flight as Backpack's coordinates led them to the local gas station that he had previously thought was nothing but completely abandoned._

"_Are you sure that thing is right?" Timezone wondered skeptically as she hovered next to him on the pair of jetblades he had recently made for her. She had quickly gotten the hang of them._

"_Are you insulting Backpack?" Hypno snapped, not being able to help himself. People could insult his personality, his appearance, his ideas, or even his entire being. But people could never insult his inventions. It was just something that wasn't done. Timezone should have been the first to know it, too._

_With a loud, suffering sigh, as if she couldn't believe what she was doing, Timezone turned to the machine on Hypno's back. "Backpack, I'm sorry."_

_The machine beeped._

"_That means it forgives you."_

"_Richie…you need more friends," she muttered under her breath. Choosing to ignore his partner's comment, Hypno closed his eyes and, where he had to manually control his helmet before, instructed Backpack to set his helmet on 'telepathic' mode._

**

* * *

**

_It's been said that when the Big Bang hit almost two years ago, you knew exactly where you were and what you were doing at the time. Richie had found himself wandering around by the dock, contemplating how much his life truly sucked. He had only one real friend and that was Frieda (a major part of that was his father's fault, who he deemed more of a racist than Hitler) and, though he loved both of his parents dearly, his home life was less than perfect. _

_It's also been said that you knew exactly where you were and what you were doing when the first meta-human had been discovered. Richie had been sitting in his room tinkering with new inventions, feeling like his brain was on fire and suddenly things that had seemed like a labyrinth-sized puzzle previously, were solvable within seconds, allowing him to escape into a world of gadgets and technology. Not long after the discovery of his new genius, did the headaches begin. Excruciating, suffocating headaches that made him want to die. It was only later that he realized the pain was due to the growth of new powers: telekinesis and telepathy. However, no matter how hard he tried, he found that he simply couldn't control his powers on his own. That was where his helmet had come in. Specially designed to control his power safely, he resolved to only use his psychokinetic powers whenever the helmet was in place, keeping them locked safely within the recesses of his mind at all other times._

**

* * *

**

_Bringing himself back out of his thoughts (he tended to get lost in them whenever working with his telepathic powers), Hypno blinked and focused his attention on the situation in front of him. As he concentrated on feeling for a potential life form that could have been the creator of whatever machine they were searching for, he frowned when he came up with nothing._

"_Approach with caution," he warned Timezone, before slowly lowering himself to the ground. He halted as he waited for Timezone to join him, stepping in front of her in a protective manner as he led her inside._

"_Well, this is quite disgusting," Hypno muttered as he wiped away cobwebs that littered the entrance. Backpack made a soft screeching sound, alerting him that the object of their hunt was nearby. Making his way to the other side of the gas station, Hypno felt a wave of unease fall upon him as Backpack's cry became louder with each step. Finally, as Hypno halted in front of a dusty blanket-covered lump, the sounds halted altogether, telling him that he had found what they'd been looking for._

"_Be careful…" Timezone whispered from across the room. Hypno nodded absently and waved her off dismissively, kneeling down as he slowly removed the blanket. He nearly fell over at what he saw. It was Backpack. Only… it wasn't Backpack. Because Backpack was, currently, on his back._

_Yet…there it was. An exact, albeit grimy, replica of his newest invention. Hypno pouted in disappointment. And here he was sure he'd created something so original…_

_He sighed and took the new invention into his arms._

"_Might as well see if it still works…" He let out a tiny frown as he located the 'on' button in the exact same place that it had been on his own invention. In fact…now that he looked at it…not only did the design appear to be identical to his own Backpack, but the layout and mechanics were the very same as well. Almost as if he had made it himself._

_Sitting back on his haunches, Hypno pulled off his helmet and began to study this odd machine, rationalizing that he was in no immediate danger as he hadn't picked up any signs of life within the area when he had checked before._

"_R-Richie…?" Timezone's voice sounded quiet and timid. Hypno cocked his head to the side and looked over at her._

"_Eh?" He felt a sudden shiver rock his body as he noticed the frantic look in his partner's eyes. "What is i?" A screech escaped his lips as a searing pain he hadn't felt since he'd first realized his powers began to infiltrate his skull, the point of concentration stemming from his right temple._

_All at once foreign images began to slice through his mind. Some were fuzzy and weak, while others were strong and vivid. Emotions that nearly tore his body apart with their strength accompanied many of these strange pictures. _

_In the time it had taken for the pain to manifest itself, it was gone, and Hypno was left panting on the floor, feeling drained and fatigued. The mysterious images were still dancing around in his head. Coughing, Hypno sat up, chills running down his spine as he heard his own voice from somewhere behind. Cautiously looking over his shoulder, Hypno felt his blood run cold as a small hologram began to play in the center of the room._

"_Gear…Richie…I-I really don't know what to say…"_

"_Please…don't…"_

"_Thank you…"_

"_S-stupid remote…"_

"_Richie…?"_

_A blinding flash lit up the room and suddenly there was silence, the hologram showing nothing but the empty gas station._

_For reasons that were, at that time, completely unknown to him, Hypno began to cry._

**

* * *

**

It had taken nearly a week for Richie to sort out everything that had happened that day at the gas station and what exactly it all meant.

Two years later, he still cried at night. He cried for the life that had been his, so happy and full of joy, so unlike his life now. He cried for the adventures he had lived and the people who had been saved. He cried for Gear, his other self, for letting his heart be broken in order to make someone else happy. He cried for the friends he'd had that didn't even exist to him anymore, or who, due to his father, he couldn't openly be friends with. Like Nina. When they weren't in superhero mode, or hiding out in the warehouse, all they could do was acknowledge each other briefly in the halls at school.

Most of all, he cried for Virgil.

Virgil, who he loved more than anything in the world. Virgil, who he didn't love at all.

The memories of that other world were still so fresh in his mind and as much a part of him as his real memories. So much so, that sometimes he couldn't tell which were real and which had been planted.

So did he really love Virgil? Or was he merely remembering the feeling of loving Virgil?

Either one made him hurt just as badly. Like he could barely function. Virgil was his best friend. His soul mate. Another part of him.

Only he wasn't.

Only they had never met.

Since the day Richie had found the older Backpack sitting in a pile of dust in the old abandoned gas station, he had lost count of how many times he'd watch the hologram.

They'd gone back in time to save Virgil's mother, and now…and now what?

What had happened? Had keeping Virgil's mother alive really changed the present that much?

Apparently it had.

Virgil.

Richie sighed and crossed out the messy 'Death of Ebon' comic he'd doodled on the back of his notebook.

Virgil.

/_I wonder where he is now…_/

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

Virgil rolled his eyes as his mother and father chatted politely with the school principle, laughing here and there about the ironies and misfortunes of being a parent.

For the first time it what seemed like forever, Virgil wanted to get to class. Before his brain exploded from this useless adult flirting thing his parents and the principle had going on, preferably. It was just creepy.

He could barely hold in his sigh of relief when his parents finally said goodbye to Mr. Jessup, gave him a kiss on the top of his head (well, at least on his mother's part) and made there way out of the building. When they were both out of earshot, Mr. Jessup turned to Virgil and frowned, his friendly demeanor dropping abruptly.

"Here is your locker number, a map of the school, and your daily schedule. Don't lose it, you won't get another one. Have a nice year and get out of my office."

Virgil grimaced as he was shoved out of the room and the door slammed shut behind him.

"Well, let's hear it for warm welcomes…" he muttered as the bell rang. Sighing, he looked down at his schedule and saw that it was already second period. He'd have to try to find his locker later if he didn't want to be late for his next class. Opening up the map, Virgil walked blindly as he searched for his destination, frowning when a group of voices from up ahead caught his attention.

"You know, Foley, I hope your heart wasn't set on getting your English homework back," a tall redhead dressed in baggy clothes taunted as he pushed a slighter blonde boy back into a bunch of lockers.

"Leave him alone, Francis!" a pretty girl with long brown hair shouted angrily. Francis gave her a nasty sneer.

"You little…" she muttered, coming up in front of Francis and kneeing him soundly in the crotch. Virgil winced collectively with the surrounding crowd.

"Are you okay…?" the pretty girl asked Foley, bending down to help him stand up.

"You know… if I cared what people thought…" Foley said through harsh pants of breath, "or had a reputation to protect…I'd be super pissed at you right now for saving me…"

The girl smiled. "And since you don't?"

Foley gave a quiet grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. Virgil was taken back by the familiarity of the expression.

"Since I don't…I'm damn grateful that you did," Foley admitted, allowing himself to be helped up by the girl. "Thanks, Frieda."

"Aw, I can't let my charity get beat up! Then I'd look bad."

"Uh huh." Foley rolled his eyes and paused as he felt around his face. "Fuck, I can't find my glasses. They must have fallen off…"

"Do you need me to help?" Frieda offered, turning back around. Foley shook his head and waved her off.

"Go to class…I'll be fine. I can find them."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now go!" Foley half laughed, half hissed. Virgil frowned as he watched the scene unfold. There was just something so familiar about this Foley guy's face…

Shifting his backpack on his shoulder, Virgil made his way to the crouched figure, picking up the fallen glasses that resided a couple of feet away from their owner against the wall.

"Uhm…here…" he said softly as he held out the spectacles for the other boy to take. Foley made a noise of gratitude as he took them, standing up straight and sliding them on.

"Thanks… I can't see shit without…." Foley's eyes widened almost comically as he stared at Virgil, taking a shaky step back.

"Uhm…?"

"V-Virgil…"

Virgil frowned, cocking his head to the side. "How do you know my name…?"

"I…uhm…I…" Foley mumbled eloquently, before spinning around on his heels and running for the nearest exit.

Virgil stood silently, staring at the spot where the strange blonde boy had just been standing.

"Well, V," he muttered to himself, "welcome to Dakota."

* * *

**TBC**

* * *


	3. Incomplete, Part 2

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing but my own original ideas.  
**Notes: **Whoops! Sorry that took so long! School was sucking! But I promise I'll do better since school is out:)  
**Notes Take Two: **I know the school year is officially starting in the fic, yet it's winter...err. Just ignore it! I screwed up lol. Also, yes, I have, in fact, seen a comic book priced at 2400 dollars. Crazy!  
**Reviews: **If you know me, you know how much I love replying to reviews, but I'm in a bit of a hurry now and I'm afraid I don't have the chance to reply one on one. But thank you to all of you wonderful people :)

* * *

**Fade Away  
Chapter Two**

* * *

Richie let out a shaky breath as he ran his fingers over the dusty surface of what he recognized as his work desk. Taking a few steps forward, he dropped his hand onto a decaying handle that he knew would snap with merely a few more grams of weight pressed upon it. 

It was still in one piece.

Frowning, Richie exerted the necessary pressure and watched blankly as the wooden anchor broke in two.

Virgil had been the one to break it in his memories.

As he stepped through the piles of abandoned debris that only seemed to make his reality that much harsher, he paused when he came to an area that he knew should be filled with empty pizza boxes and video games. All that he saw were the remains of a child's doll that was left behind in the hurried evacuation of the convenience store.

A small burst of laughter from somewhere behind caught Richie's attention, causing him to whip around and slide into a fighting position.

There was no one there.

The laughter sounded again, and this time it came from a large ratty couch that centered the room. Slowly making his way to the sofa, he felt a shiver run down his spine as the laughter grew louder.

"Hey, Rich! Quit trying to find a cure for cancer and get over here!" The outline of Virgil was fuzzy and haphazard, yet there he was on the ugly couch, giving him a huge grin.

Richie had learned long ago not to trust the tricks his mind played on him. He reached out hesitantly and swiped his hand through the materialized vision of a boy he never knew, feeling a familiar ache of emptiness fill him when Virgil, along with the couch, disappeared right before his eyes.

Good riddance. The couch was hideous anyway.

The sting in his eyes told him differently.

He took in a deep breath and made his way back to the glass door that he knew should have had a crude alarm system of Christmas bells placed upon it for security. His chest stung when the door opened and no sound but the hoarse squeaking of age came out. Running his fingers through his hair, he stepped out into the sunlight and squinted in the brightness.

He shouldn't have come here. He knew he shouldn't have. And yet…

Running into Virgil at school had spooked him so much that he felt that he _needed_ to check out the old gas station. As if to prove to himself that he really wasn't just crazy.

Then again, so far none of the things he'd stumbled upon had done much in his favor to convince him of his sanity.

The sound of his electronic watch beeping alerted him to the time, causing him to let out a dismayed groan.

Shit. He was so late.

Frieda was going to kill him.

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

Virgil rolled his eyes as he slammed the door to Sharon's car shut, making his way up the snow-covered steps of the Freeman Community Center.

"_Oh, Virgil, stop being such a baby. You need to go meet new people and make new friends_…_Here, you can even use my car. It's four wheel drive._" Virgil mimicked as he wrapped his coat tighter around himself. His first attempt to get out of Dakota's annual "Welcome New Neighbors!" event had been to complain about the icy roads and how dangerous driving on them would be. His charitable sister had oh-so-graciously offered her own set of wheels to him. Virgil had been beside himself with joy.

He heard music coming out from behind the large double doors and all that passed through his mind was the thought that he could be hanging out with his friends back from his old hood right now had they never moved. The thought was quickly replaced by his mother's hopeful face when she'd first suggested he come to the 'party.'

"The things I do for you, mom…" he muttered as he placed his hand against the door. There was a moment of hesitation, before he pushed on through and was suddenly hit with a wave of heat and the sharp smells of intermingled food.

"Virgil!" No sooner had he taken two steps inside did he hear an excited voice in his ear. Raising an eyebrow, he peeked over his shoulder and forced a smile when his gaze met Farah's.

Farah's…

Farah….

Or was it Faith?

Faith…Fran.…Fr…Fr…

"Frieda!" he exclaimed nervously, hoping that he'd gotten the name right. When the girl merely smiled in reply and waved him over, he sighed in relief and made his way to her side.

"I'm so glad you could make it!" she giggled, bringing the plastic cup in her hands to her mouth. Virgil distantly noticed that the shade of gloss covering her lips was the same color as the red on the cup.

"Yeah, well, wouldn't miss it," he replied, mentally adding '_except for anything else_.' He sighed when Frieda laughed again and took hold of his arm, dragging him towards the punch bowl as she announced that she was dying for him to meet a friend of hers. Virgil raised an eyebrow but followed willingly, afraid to offend his host for the night. As he looked up towards their destination, he frowned. Standing beside the table was a lone blonde boy who kept his gaze glued to the floor. Virgil had the strange feeling that they'd already met.

"Great…I get buddied up with Mr. Anti-Social…" he muttered under his breath, still trying to place the other boy. If only he could see the blonde's face.

"Richie!" Frieda yelled, catching the aloof boy's attention. Raising his head in confusion, Richie's eyes sought out Frieda, freezing when he caught sight of who was standing beside her.

"Oh! That weird kid!" Virgil shouted suddenly, snapping his fingers in victory as he was finally able to remember where he'd seen Richie before. The guy who had run away from him at school!

It took Virgil nearly a full minute before he realized he'd spoken his thoughts aloud, and even longer to register the look of combined fear and hurt on Richie's face. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Frieda giving him a look equivalent to murder as the blonde boy dropped his cup and pushed his way through the crowd to reach the door.

"Uhm…Oops?" Virgil tried, laughing nervously as he shrugged his shoulders in a helpless gesture. As Frieda slowly began to approach, Virgil was very quickly reminded of his sister when he'd crashed her brand new car into a tree when he was twelve.

Well, shit.

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

"Dammit! What is this guy's _problem_?" Virgil cursed, tightening his scarf around his neck as the snow picked up around him. After being confronted by a terrifyingly angry Frieda and dozens of accusing eyes, Virgil had had no choice but to run off after Richie to make amends.

"Well, you'd be pissed too if you were recognized by some stranger as 'the weird kid'…" he rationalized to himself, keeping his gaze on the ground in search of footprints in the slush. "So, okay, this little stunt is my fault. But this morning! Yeah, he's got no excuse for that one. He's just weird. I don't even know why I'm coming to apologize. He'll just run away again…."

With a sigh, Virgil noticed that his boot's lace had become undone and knelt down to fix it, gritting his teeth together at the sensation of the ice hitting his knee through his jeans. There was a loud crash a few yards off that made him jump slightly, but he kept his head down, knowing not to seem interested or get involved. He'd been alive during the Gang Wars of Dakota and was old enough to know how to handle the situation if a fight broke out anywhere around him. Just ignore it and try to go along as normal as possible, lest you get dragged in unwittingly.

"Yeah, right, mom…" he muttered as he stood, "It's perfectly safe here. Perfectly--"

"VIRGIL MOVE!" The cry that came was so unexpected, Virgil found himself halting all actions in order to search for the voice that had called to him.

Not a second later was he extremely aware of why moving was such a good idea.

Diving down into the snow covered sidewalk, Virgil covered his head with his arms and curled up into a fetal position. He closed his eyes tightly as he braced himself for the impact of the airborne SUV that was making its way towards the store window inconveniently placed behind him.

There was a brilliant flash of light that suddenly surrounded him, and for a moment Virgil thought he was dead, thanking whatever Gods existed that he had felt no pain. As he slowly opened his eyes, he took in a deep breath, reading himself to finally see what Heaven looked like.

Heaven looked a lot like Dakota.

And God looked a lot like Hypno.

Sitting up slowly, Virgil rubbed his eyes and stared in disbelief as Hypno, Dakota's very own superhero, held the SUV up in midair, a mere few inches above the ground where Virgil had been lying.

"Dude…" Hypno gasped, voice sounding strained. Virgil frowned and cocked his head to the side. A single garbage truck was too much for the great Hypno? Virgil really needed to evaluate his list of favorite superheroes.

"M-move…"

Rolling his eyes, Virgil stood slowly and stepped clear of the sidewalk so that Hypno could safely land the truck. As soon as Virgil moved aside, however, he had a clear view of the battleground before him. Not only was Hypno balancing the truck, but he was also using a forcefield to hold back the strange monster that he had been fighting.

Oh. Well, then. That explained it.

Virgil mentally readded Hypno to his Top Five list of superheroes. Right below The Justice League (because, as everyone knew, they were their own separate unit), of course.

As soon as Hypno placed the truck down, he was up and plunging back into the fight. Virgil watched with a wide-eyed curiosity, well aware that he should have been running for his life instead of standing in the middle of the street like a liability.

The entire scene unwrapped like an action movie in front of him, right down to the moment when the police cars were hurdling down the street, criminal safely in their hands. He stood silent for a long moment, allowing the surrealism of the situation to seep in.

"Whoa," he mumbled in awe. The closest he'd ever come to superheroes was hearing about it in the news hundreds of miles away, and yet here he was right in the middle of it!

Which could possibly explain why Hypno wasn't looking exceedingly happy.

"Right, right…I was supposed to move?" Virgil tried, shrugging his shoulders apologetically. Hypno raised an eyebrow and stepped closer.

"That might have been a good idea, yeah," the blonde superhero countered, though there wasn't any real anger in his tone. He walked around Virgil to inspect the damage done to the street. Virgil frowned.

"Err, no offense, but isn't it the city's job to fix the little cracks on the sidewalk?"

"Not if there's a priceless and extremely sophisticated computer chip resting below the sidewalk's surface that that Bang Baby was trying to break through to get."

"Uh…oh. Well why didn't he just crawl into the sewer system."

"It caved in last week."

"Gotcha," Virgil muttered, feeling like nothing more than a curious child while the adults played poker and wanted him out of the way. One thing struck him, however…

"How did you know my name?"

Hypno suddenly dropped the instrument in his hands, body tensing noticeably. There was a second or two of silence, before Hypno continued on his work, albeit a bit shakily.

"I'm psychic remember?" he said with a forced laugh. Virgil raised an eyebrow.

"Uh huh. And why--"

"Speaking of being psychic…. I see that you're supposed to be at a party right now. What were you doing in the middle of the street?"

Eyes widening, Virgil immediately remembered what he'd been sent to do and felt and overwhelming amount of guilt wash over himself for forgetting.

"I...err, I'm supposed to be looking for someone," he admitted. It was the first time of the night that Hypno seemed to be the one caught off guard.

"What?"

Ignoring the superhero's strange response, Virgil continued, keeping his gaze on the ground. "His name is Richie…I, err, may or may not have said something bad about him…really loudly. And I guess I should go apologize…"

There was a soft shuffle in front of him and when he brought his gaze back up, Virgil was shocked to see Hypno was gone. A small hole cut into the sidewalk where Hypno had presumably removed the chip was all that was left in his wake.

Well, that and the giant dent in the street.

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

"Should I let him find me? Maybe I shouldn't…Or—no..but what if..?" Richie frowned and paced back and forth in front of the abandoned gas station, watching his feet as they made imprints in the dirty slush. When Virgil had announced who he was looking for, Richie had gone on autopilot, racing straight to the place that held so many confusing memories. He hadn't even realized where he was going until he was face to face with the broken pumps, which still read the gas prices from five years ago.

"If I _do_ let him find me, then maybe we can talk…and… I don't know…we could…but what if he's different from what I remember? What if…wait, but what if he's the same?" Richie stopped in his tracks and stared curiously in front of him, mind lost in thought. "But what if he's _not_? But what if he is? If he is, could we go back to how we were? Do I want to? But he could just as well be a total jerk…But--"

"Richie?"

Eyes widening, Richie whipped around to face Virgil, foot slipping on a patch of ice hidden beneath the snow. He flailed his arms wildly as he searched for something to hold on to, feeling his stomach drop when all he felt was air.

"Whoa, whoa!" Before he knew what was happening, Richie found himself in a familiar embrace, being dipped like an awkward ballerina. "Are you okay?"

And this solved one problem.

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

"So why was your date tonight that punchbowl? I mean, yeah, it was a lovely shade of red, but I don't think it was very big on talking," Virgil grinned, taking a long sip of the mug of hot chocolate in his hands. Richie rolled his eyes and looked out the window of the coffee shop they'd stopped at. Neither of them had been exceedingly thrilled at the idea of returning to the party, so instead they'd walked in a rather awkward silence until the first sight of warmth fell before them.

"I dunno. It didn't seem to mind hanging out with 'that weird guy," Richie countered, stirring his coffee absently. Virgil winced.

"Err, yeah…about that," he sighed and sat up straighter in the booth, "I'm really sorry… I tend to speak before I think sometimes…"

Richie leaned back and raised an eyebrow.

"Err, okay, a lot of times…" Virgil corrected, looking sheepish. Unable to help himself, Richie smiled at the familiar expression, images of the same face accompanied by shameful apologies to Mr. Hawkins flashing through his mind.

"Whatever, bro….It's fine," he assured, jumping in surprise as the chimes of the Plantman theme song cut through the air. Digging into his pocket, he sighed as he pulled out his cell phone, rolling his eyes at the number that was displayed.

"Yes, mother?" he answered dryly. He was rewarded by an irritated 'tch' in response.

"Where are you?" Frieda demanded, voice sounding tiny over the connection. Richie fought the urge to roll his eyes again.

"Lying in a ditch somewhere in the outskirts of town with my legs broken and no hope of ever seeing the light of day again."

"That's not funny."

"Really?" Richie smirked, "I was amused."

"Whatever," Frieda muttered, obviously giving up. "Virgil went looking for you."

"Yes, I know."

"You do?"

"How?"

Richie pulled the phone away from his ear and held it out in front of Virgil, mouthing the words "It's Frieda." With a grin, Virgil took the cell.

"Yo, Free-Free, what's shaking?" He paused for a moment, before laughing. "Alright, note to self: never call Frieda 'Free-Free' if I want to keep my limbs intact."

Frowning at the words, Richie adverted his gaze back to the window. He had a picture in his mind of Virgil saying the exact same thing to Frieda at the age of eleven.

Sighing to himself, he rested his chin on the palm of his hand, drowning out Virgil's voice.

This had to be a bad idea. Somehow, it had to be. The Gods, for whatever reason, had decided to curse Richie with a painful burden, and becoming friends with the person he would spend his life trying to forget somehow seemed like cheating.

"So…you like Plantman?"

Richie snapped out of his thoughts and glanced up at Virgil's smiling face. Virgil was sliding his cell phone back to him across the table.

"I, err, uhm…yeah."

"Dude, me too! I have both movies and every issue up to number 285! I've been trying to get my hands on the latest special, but everywhere I turn it's sold out."

The familiarity was just too much for Richie, and before he could stop himself he was blurting out, "There's a few big comics store just down the street that generally have all of the latest issues in stock..."

"For real?"

Somewhere in his mind, sirens were going off left and right, desperately trying to alert him that this was a really bad idea.

But one night couldn't hurt, could it?

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

"Whoa, man! They have the first issue of Blue Samurai? I thought every copy of this was behind titanium bars in some laser guarded basement!" Virgil exclaimed as he pointed at the comic book where it stood on display behind the clerk's counter. Quickly pulling out his wallet, he waved to get the salesman's attention. "Yo…Eddie!" he called, reading the employee's nametag. "How much for Blue Samurai issue number one?"

Eddie stared blankly at Virgil for a long moment, before slowly raising a skeptical eyebrow.

"Twenty-four hundred."

Spluttering, Virgil would have fallen backwards had Richie not been there to balance him. "_Dollars_? Damn! That thing _should_ be behind titanium bars in a laser guarded basement! Twenty-four hundred dollars…"

His mumblings soon came to a halt when his eyes caught sight of a holographic cover of Soul Power and Virgil quickly lost all train of thought as he ran over to it. Richie had to hide his smile. Virgil was always getting distracted in comic book stores, rambling on about something or other until the newest edition of whatever superhero he adored that week grabbed his attention.

Richie blinked.

Or…was he? Turning away, Richie frowned. The images had surfaced in his mind unwittingly and planted themselves there without him knowing it.

"Look! They even have stuff with Timezone and Hypno!"

Richie snapped out of his thoughts and stared at Virgil. "What?"

The darker boy grinned and held up a candid photograph of Dakota's very own superheroes, caught in the midst of saving civilians from a fire.

"Dude, Hypno is--"

"Not that great," Richie interrupted, bringing his gaze back to the floor. He heard Virgil make a sound of shock.

"How can you say that? Hypno is all that, man! He saved me on my way to find you!"

"Oh…?"

"Yeah! Man, I've never even _seen_ a superhero in person before, and tonight not only did I see him, but I talked to him!" Virgil's voice grew more excited with every word that left his mouth, and Richie had to force himself to look away.

"So…a little obsessed with superheroes, are we?" There was lump in Richie's throat, which he found less than inexplicable.

"You know it!" Virgil grinned brightly and went back to checking out the pictures of various superheroes that had come through town on display. He felt his stomach jump when he came to the last one in the row.

"No _way_. Hypno's worked with _Batman_?"

"He's kind of a jerk," Richie muttered, recalling the experience and remembering how cold Batman had seemed. Even at the end when Hypno had thought he'd merited at least a little of Batman's respect, the most he'd gotten out of the older man was a nod of acknowledgement. According to Robin, however, "that means he likes you."

"Say what?"

Richie glanced up at Virgil's voice. "What?"

"You said he's a jerk?"

Eyes widening, Richie searched his brain for something to say.

"No, I didn't," he lied, "I said 'He needs a lot of work.'"

Virgil raised an eyebrow and folded his arms across his chest. "Meaning?"

"Well, I just meant Hypno needs a lot of work to make it to the same level as _Batman_. It's like the 1992 US Olympic basketball team playing with a benchwarmer from Duke University."

Virgil was silent for a moment as he considered Richie's response, before grinning largely. "That's true."

Richie felt a prickle of resentment, calming down as he realized that Virgil was only agreeing with what _he_ had said. He sighed.

"Look, I should probably go now…" It was hitting him again that this was still probably a bad idea.

Nodding with a frown, Virgil put down the picture in his hands and made his way towards the door.

"Err, you don't have to leave…" Richie tried, running to catch up with him. The icy air bit at his face as soon as they left the warm confines of the shop.

"Yeah, but comic books runs aren't as fun without a fellow super geek on the trail with you," Virgil said with a laugh. Richie looked up at him sharply, feeling yet another wave of deja-vu fall over him.

"I..uhm…this is my stop," he said shakily, pointing vaguely off to the side. Virgil looked slightly concerned.

"Richie… that's porn shop."

Eyes widening, Richie turned his gaze to the direction his finger was pointing in, and turned red upon seeing that Virgil was right. Quickly, he looked for an escape.

"Well, no, I, uh, I mean this alley next to it… It's the short cut to my house." It was a blatant lie, of course. Richie would have to walk an extra half mile to get home if he went through the alley. But he really needed to get away from Virgil.

"I don't know how I feel about letting you walk through there at this time of night…" Virgil said slowly, gazing at the darkened street warily.

"Dude, I'll be fine. I go home this way all the time." Another lie. And without his helmet, Richie wouldn't dare attempt to access his powers in fear that he might very well lose control of them. If something were to happen to him in the alley, he'd be completely helpless.

But he really needed to get away from Virgil.

"What if--"

"Stop acting like it's a big deal if something happens to me! You don't even know me!" The words stung both parties, inexplicably so.

"Look, I just don't want to have a dead guy on my conscious, all right!"

Richie was taken aback by the force with which Virgil spoke. Apparently this Virgil _was_ different than the one he remembered.

"All right?" Virgil's voice was softer now, but Richie still felt a bit cautious.

"…All right."

**O:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:o:O**

"See? Now was that so bad?" Virgil's cheerful grin made Richie want to slap him.

"Is this the part where I kiss you goodnight?" he muttered bitterly, roughly unlocking the front door to his house. Virgil laughed.

"Not until the second date."

Richie rolled his eyes and stepped inside, feeling at his wits end with frustration. He knew it wasn't technically Virgil's fault, but whenever he talked or even looked at the other boy, he felt a little piece of the sanity he tried so hard to create over the years break off and fly into the oblivion. He'd had his moments most of the day where he could forget that this wasn't the Virgil in his mind, and pretend that they were in the happy universe he had in his head, but whenever he would come back to reality, the pain just seemed that much worse. By now he just wanted to go up to his room and cry. Or scream his lungs out. Or maybe both.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow!" The voice was getting smaller, and by the time Richie looked up, Virgil was almost gone. With a frown, Richie slid his door closed and stumbled up the stairs to his room.

At school the next day, no matter what, he would have to avoid Virgil at all costs. He was cheating the Gods, and he knew from personal experience when he'd teamed up with Wonder Woman that they did not appreciate it.

* * *

**TBC**

* * *


End file.
